The Samsung Gear Sport Watch, released in the summer of 2017, is water-resistant, making it appropriate for swimming and other water sports in addition to showers and rainy days. Unlike other Samsung smartwatches, it doesn’t have speakers for making phone calls or playing music (sans Bluetooth), and there’s no LTE version, which lets you make calls and send messages even when your smartphone isn’t nearby. It can track all sorts of activities, though, including swimming (of course) and is Samsung Pay compatible.
The watch is available in one size (44mm) with bands in either black or blue. It also works with any 20mm watch bands. Like the Galaxy Watch and Gear S3, the Gear Sport Watch has a rotating bezel for navigation. It also has an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, heart rate monitor, and gyroscope.
The watch runs on Samsung’s Tizen OS, not Google’s Wear operating system, and it’s compatible with Samsung smartphones, Android phones running Android 4.4 and later with at least 1.5GB RAM, and the iPhone 5 or later with iOS 9.0 and above.
These are the five best Samsung Gear Sport watch features.
Offline Music Playback via Spotify
The Gear Watch launched at the same time that Spotify updated its app to allow offline playback on smartwatches. Connect your watch to Wi-Fi, and you can download songs, albums, and playlists to your watch. Then you’ll be able to listen to music using Bluetooth headphones when you’re offline, whether you leave your phone behind while taking a run or if you’re hiking off the grid.
You need a Spotify Premium account to take advantage of this feature. Premium also takes away ads.
Interactive Coaching for Workouts
If you need workout inspiration, the Gear Sport can help with more than 60 built-in workouts. Connect your smartphone to your TV to watch a video that guides you through the workout, while your watch tracks your progress (reps, etc.) and measures your heart rate.
You need a TV that supports the Samsung Smart View app.
Controlling Smart Home Devices
The Gear Watch also lets you adjust smart home devices using Samsung’s SmartThings app. You can control smart TVs, air conditioners, smart appliances, lights, locks, and more. Check the SmartThings website for compatible devices.
The watch also has a Gear for Nest app so you can adjust your home’s temperature and other Nest thermostat settings by rotating the watch bezel.
Swim Tracking
The Gear Sport has a water-resistant rating of 5ATM or 50 meters so you can dive deep without worry, and record your underwater activity too. Get even more detail with the Speedo On app which tracks your swims and offers challenges, breathing, strength, and technique drills as well as training plans created by coaches and elite athletes. Speedo On collects data like pace, speed, distance, stroke count, and heart rate. You can also follow your friends on the app and even comment on their swims.
Swipe down the Status panel on the watch, tap Water lock mode > Done. To turn off Water lock mode, press and hold the Home button. Lightly shake your watch whenever your watch gets wet to remove any water.
Turn on Water lock mode in case you accidentally touch your screen while swimming.
Controlling Presentations
Though the Gear Sport is geared toward sports, as the name implies, it can also act as a remote for opening files on an external screen and clicking through a presentation. Connect your Gear Sport and PC via Bluetooth, and your watch becomes a remote control for PowerPoint presentations.
You need the PowerPoint app on both devices. Launch it on your Gear Sport and tap Connect; it should then appear in the list of nearby Bluetooth devices on your computer. Once connected, tap Slideshow. Tap to move the next page or rotate the bezel clockwise to advance and counterclockwise to return to a previous slide.
Tap Touchpad to control the cursor on the computer and tap Stop to end the presentation.
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